The Real Estate Book-Shreveport/Bossier City, LA

BORROWERS HAVE SPOKEN:
A Mix of Tech & Touch Ideal for Mortgages
Mortgage borrowers are
espousing the benefits of
technology in the process of
financing a home, but also
recognize the need for—and
value of—face-to-face interactions
with lenders, according
to a new survey.
Fifty-seven percent of homeowners
in Ellie Mae's 2017
Borrower Insights Survey
completed their most recent
mortgage in-person, while
28 percent completed theirs
both in-person and online.
Eleven percent completed
theirs solely online, the survey
said.
Forty percent of the homeowners
surveyed would have
preferred a "faster process"
and "fewer delays"—challenges
that can be eliminated
or reduced with technology.
Twenty percent,
similarly, would have preferred
a "shorter, easier to
understand application."
"There's no question that
technology is playing a larger
role in the home-buying
experience," said Joe Tyrrell,
executive vice president
of Corporate Strategy
at Ellie Mae, in a statement
on the survey. "As we expected,
many homeowners
are seeking a faster and
more streamlined experience—and
it's not just a
millennial phenomenon;
it's homebuyers of all ages
and both genders."
Case in point: Millennial borrowers
were more likely than
any other generation to use
a combination of in-person
and online resources to obtain
a mortgage, at 30 percent,
but borrowers in Generation
X followed at a close
28 percent, as well as baby
boomer borrowers, at 20
percent. Though millennial
borrowers place the highest
importance of all other generations
on security throughout
the process—an area
improved, generally, by technology—each
generation
surveyed values simplicity.
There is one aspect of the
process largely unaffected
by technology: locating a
lender. According to the survey,
61 percent of borrowers
selected the lender for their
most recent mortgage based
on a referral—23 percent on
a referral from family or a
friend, 17 percent on a referral
from a bank, 16 percent
on a referral from a real
estate professional, and 5
percent on a referral from a
financial advisor. Just 18 percent
of borrowers found a
lender on their own through
an online search.
So what’s the takeaway? For
most borrowers, technology
is only one part of the
process. Eleven percent of
the homeowners surveyed
would have preferred their
lender communicate with
them more.
"Homeowners still want a personal interaction with their lender," Tyrrell said. "They
want someone who can answer important questions, and make them feel confident that
everything will be handled correctly and on time."